A special trial court for one of the two 2002 Ode massacre cases is expected to pronounce its judgment on Friday. Special judge R M Sareen has conducted trial against 41 accused in Anand.

Three Muslims  Kadar Vohra,Ayesha Vohra and Noori Vohra,all of a family  were burnt to death inside a house near Malav Bhagol in Ode town of Anand district on March 1,2002, two days after the Sabarmati Express train carnage near the Godhra railway station.

The case was first investigated by the Gujarat Police and later by the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Total 41 accused are undergoing trial in the case and four of them were in the middle of the trial following an application by some victims and witnesses.

Six accused are absconding and are believed to have fled the country. The SIT has got issued Red Corner notice against them. Some of them have been traced to Australia and the US,and the SIT has initiated a process to get them extradited to India.

The SIT has appointed B C Trivedi as the Special Public Prosecutor in the case while the accused are being defended by advocates Ashvin Dhagat and C K Patel. The victims and witnesses are being represented by advocates Irshad Mansuri and Nisar Shaikh. The prosecution has in all examined 67 witnesses.

Of the nine Godhra and post-Godhra riots,this is the only case where the accused have led a witness in their favour in the trial.

Last month,a special trial court had convicted 23 persons in another massacre reported from the same town.